Jews, Western sociology’s intimate others

Abstract

This article argues that Goldberg’s Modernity and the Jews in Western Social Thought fills an important gap: Jews are not only ‘good to think’ (Lévi-Strauss) but also essential for Western social theorists to critically interpret modernity and ambivalence towards it. In the article’s first part, devoted to the book’s epistemological and methodological underpinnings, I raise the following points: the book’s disciplinary focus prevents it from engaging more fully with broader intellectual and sociocultural currents, its national- cum-thematic structure precludes the exploration of transnational comparisons and nationally exogenous factors, the neglect of Jewish exile and cosmopolitan identity in the face of antisemitism and lack of clarity as to whether the book conforms to a realist epistemology or a symbolic one. In the article’s second part, I raise points about Goldberg’s rereading of the sociological canon, notably regarding Durkheim, Simmel and Weber.